The Scientist
by departmentoftheinterior
Summary: Skintight faded black jeans clung to every muscular curve of her legs, running right into the ankle-high boots on her feet. The girl's wild platinum-blonde hair was pulled into a loose braid over her left shoulder, and untamed wisps were haphazardly slicked back on her head. [...Ok. So… she's our TA. Definitely not what I expected.] [Elsanna] ChemTA!Elsa/freshman!Anna
1. Hot for TA

**AN: Elsanna collegeAU. No icest – just a couple of strangers and an idea I couldn't get out of my head. Obviously I don't own **_**Frozen**_**. Or Disney. Or anything awesome, really. And please don't hate for the college major stereotypes. It's a work of fiction. Just take it with a grain of salt. Also, it's rated M for language and later chapters. T for now. So… here goes…**

**The Scientist**

**Chapter 1: Hot for TA**

Why in the world a Marketing major had to take a Chemistry class, she really didn't know. It was a totally stupid requirement, Anna huffed wordlessly, blowing her messy strawberry-blonde bangs from her eyes before casting a weary glance at the ever-growing collection of Science majors in the corner. All of her friends were in Briggs' Intro to Biology class – a long-running favorite among the kids of the Business School when the time came that they were forced to make that long trek across campus to the Langham building. Or, you know, the place where both fun and your GPA went to die. And to make it all worse, none of them had to do a _lab_.

But there she was – totally alone, kind of terrified and freezing her ass off in the icy hallways on the sixth floor of Langham. And, _God_, was she hungry. If hell could freeze, Anna was sure she was in it.

_And it's three whole hours. From 6 to 9. On a _Monday_ night. What kind of horrible, inhuman pers-_

Anna shivered, pulling further into her bright pink fleece jacket as a tall, thin figure brushed past her. She only caught a glimpse of the girl's face, but it was enough to stun her into silence. And judging by the now-pursed lips and fear-widened eyes of the other freshmen around her, Anna wasn't the only one.

The dull thud of worn combat boots on the linoleum floor was the only sound in the hallway, save the occasional clatter of a pencil and the quiet scrape of plastic buckles and Ripstop Nylon on the floor as students picked up their backpacks. The somewhat lighthearted din of only seconds ago was long forgotten.

Every student around her looked pretty much terrified as the girl wordlessly pushed the key into the lock and opened the door before casually sauntering into the lab. Still, Anna couldn't help but be ever so slightly intrigued. And maybe a little scared, but mostly intrigued. If not altogether incoherent.

_And, oh, my God – her… wow. She's got a really nice… Unff._

_Ok. So… _she's_ our TA. Definitely not what I expected._

A red and black flannel shirt hug loosely on the girl's slender body, contrasting with the black tank top she had on underneath – one that hugged her toned stomach in all the right ways, Anna couldn't help but notice. Skintight faded black jeans clung to every muscular curve of her legs, running right into the ankle-high boots on her feet. The girl's wild platinum-blonde hair was pulled into a loose braid over her left shoulder, and untamed wisps were haphazardly slicked back on her head.

Even with everyone around her gawking in fear, Anna couldn't help the faint trace of a smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth when she saw the old black calculator watch on the girl's wrist. Clearly she belonged in Langham. Maybe a little too much, given the looks she was getting. Turns out there were even geeks among the geeks.

Stopping for a moment, the girl glanced back over her shoulder at the students still in the hallway. No one dared move. The girl quirked a dark eyebrow at them and something Anna couldn't decipher flickered in her mesmerizing ice-blue eyes. Was it annoyance? _Amusement_, even?

Anna's breath caught in her chest when the girl's dark, resonant voice pierced the tense silence shrouding the hall.

"I don't bite, you know."

_Oh, my God. Wow. Shit. Wow._


	2. Close Encounters With the Nerd Kind

**AN: Sorry for the super-short chapter one. I didn't know if the story would generate any interest. But apparently some of you actually liked it, so, thank you, and here's more of this weird story that's basically cockblocking me from doing actual homework. =) Coolio. Thanks, muse. Awkward plot bunny toners **_**everywhere**_**.**

**2. Close Encounters With the Nerd Kind**

"So… how'd it go?"

Anna wearily blinked up from her bowl of chicken and rice. A small, tired smile instantly crossed her face.

"Hey, Hannah," she said, letting out a relieved sigh as her roommate slid into the chair across the table from her; they hadn't known each other long, but after hearing horror stories about roommates from her friends and family, Anna was overjoyed to have someone she actually connected with. "You didn't have to come join my pity party, you know."

"Ah," Hannah smirked, playfully kicking Anna's shin under the table, "It's what roommates are for." She flicked a stray piece of rice back at her roommate and laughed when Anna grimaced. "So – you never answered my question! How was it? Like _death_?"

_Horrible. It was fucking horrible. Almost three fucking hours in that stupid frozen tundra doing nothing but watching a cheesy 90s-era safety video and organizing glassware. Oh, and, you know, fangirling over my freaking _TA_, but whatever. Nothing to see here, people._

"Oh, I mean," Anna shrugged, looking at her barely-touched dinner, "I guess it wasn't _that _bad."

"You know you're a terrible liar, right?" Hannah deadpanned.

"Hey!" Anna protested teasingly. "I just went through hell – leave me alone."

"Oh, my God," Hannah snickered. "Chem labs aren't _that_ terrible."

"You're a Chemistry major!" Anna exclaimed, nudging Hannah's arm. "You do this for _fun_! I have to do this because someone clearly thought _torturing_ me would be _fun_."

"You have to do it because it's a Gen Ed requirement," Hannah pointed out, smiling.

"Do you always have to be the voice of reason…?" Anna groaned, giving her roommate a puppy-dog pout.

"With _you_ as a roommate?" Hannah smirked, giving Anna a playful once-over. "Fuck yes. Somebody has to."

"Ugh – thanks _Mom_," Anna rolled her eyes.

"You're welcome, honey," Hannah retorted. She shook her head and grinned, the messy bun of brown hair atop her head bouncing with each movement. "So who'd you end up getting? Which TA?"

_Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. Please don't make me talk about her._

"Aren't they kind of all the same?" Anna forced out a laugh before taking a massive bite of chicken and rice.

"No way!" Hannah blinked, her eyes widening. "TA's are everything. From what my sister told me, you basically either pass or fail based on who your TA is."

_Great. That's just fan-fucking-tastic. Why did I fail the class, Mom and Dad? Oh, just because I spent the entire course staring at my TA like a drooling dumbass. It's nothing. Really._

"Like, apparently I got a pretty good one. His name's Ryan. My sister said he's pretty lenient with the lab reports and stuff. Supposedly he doesn't really read what you write, so long as your formulas are all in order," Hannah shrugged, rambling on. "Do you remember what their name was? I could ask Leah about it. Maybe she could give you some tips."

_Fuck. They're both Chem majors. And they're gonna know her. And they're actually gonna _talk_ to her. And they're gonna figure out I'm totally crushing on – ok, no. Don't – just… just be cool. Don't. Spaz. Out._

"I really wasn't even paying that much attention," Anna shrugged, trying desperately to actually lie convincingly for once in her life.

"Ok, _that_ I believe," Hannah laughed.

_Ha. Did it._

"I just hope you didn't get this new TA chick," Hannah laughed nervously, letting out a whistle as she shook her head.

_Shit._

"According to my sister, she sounds like a real pain in the ass," Hannah continued. "Apparently she's, like, the first undergrad TA they've ever had. She's a Senior just like Leah, but from what it sounds like, no one's even close to her level. Chick's hella smart, but supposedly a _total _bitch."

Anna dug her nails into the balled up napkin in her fist under the table. _It might not even be her. Don't freak. And why the hell are you getting so weird about it? My God, it's not like you're dating. Oh, my _God_, you did _not_ just think about _dating_ your _TA_! It's the first fucking day of college, you perv! Stop. Shut up. Just ignore it. Keep a straight face. You can do this_.

"Her name's, like, Elise or something," Hannah shrugged.

Something that felt suspiciously like ice coursed from Anna's heart through every artery and vein in her body.

_Elsa. Her name is Elsa._

* * *

"_Why_?" Anna groaned quietly into her pillow, her wet strawberry-blonde hair splayed out all around her as every agonizing detail of her first Chem lab replayed over and over again in her head.

She winced at the sound of Hannah stirring in her sleep. Propping one elbow over the cool steel guardrail of her lofted bed, Anna peeked over the side, heaving a soft sigh of relief at the sight of a knocked-out Hannah tangled up in her sheets. Anna turned onto her back, staring up at the glow-in-the dark stars she taped to the ceiling on her side of the room.

"The sky's awake," she whispered, pulling her stuffed reindeer, Sven, into her arms.

Absently running her fingertips across Sven's smooth harness and into his downy fur, Anna huffed out a sigh.

_You need to sleep. Or better yet, get a life and stop spazzing out about every single little thing you do. It's not healthy. You're aware of this. And yet-_

"I can't believe I made such an idiot out of myself," Anna grumbled almost inaudibly as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to erase the memory from playing out on the backs of her eyelids.

* * *

"Safety glasses."

Anna froze, breath hitching at the sound of the earthy timbre of Elsa's voice. She hadn't even heard the characteristic muffled clomp of the older girl's boots come up behind her, inundated by the echoing clinks and clanks of volumetric glassware being organized.

"W-What?" Anna stammered as a 100mL beaker slipped from her now-sweaty fingers and onto the black lab bench.

_Smooth, Anna. Super friggen smooth._

"Safety glasses," Elsa repeated seriously. She let out a somewhat annoyed-sounding puff of breath that made Anna cringe as the older girl walked around the lab bench to make eye contact with the redheaded freshman. "You need to wear safety glasses in the lab at all times – no exceptions."

_How are her eyes so _blue_? Even through those horrible glasses, they're… _gorgeous_. They're like… they're like _ice_. Holy crap I think she's actually staring through my soul. Oh, fuck – what if she can read my mind? Stop thinking. Stop it. Just, _God_, say _something_!_

"I-I don't have-" Anna stuttered before pausing to regain her composure, "I'm sorry, I didn't know we had to…"

Elsa gave her a nearly inconspicuous once-over. Her full, pinkish-red lips were drawn into a thin line and her dark brows dipped just enough to make Anna feel like her soul was being ripped from her body.

"You're not a Biology major, are you?" the older girl asked, quirking an eyebrow at the redhead in front of her. "I know you're not Chemistry, but-"

"Marketing," Anna squeaked.

The younger girl's face flushed as red as her hair when Elsa's lips curled into the faintest trace of an amused smirk. Much to Anna's surprise, Elsa reached up and pulled off her glasses before handing them to her.

"Here," Elsa said, her voice still serious, but ever so slightly softer.

"Oh – Oh, no," Anna rambled. "Those are yours. I-I'm not going to-"

"Relax," Elsa brushed her off, shoving the royal-blue framed glasses into Anna's hand.

Anna bit back a hiss as Elsa's soft, cool fingertips brushed against her warm palm.

_Oh, wow. She's touching me. Ok. Wow – her hands are really soft. Oh, my God. _Anna_. Get it the fuck together._

"They're the lab's," Elsa continued, ignoring the dazed look on the redhead's face. "Use these today so you don't get hurt, and pick up a pair from the bookstore before next week's class or I'll have to deduct points from your lab report."

All Anna could do was nod dumbly, her jaw completely slack as Elsa turned and plodded away without a second thought.

* * *

_You are literally, without a doubt, the biggest idiot on the planet._

Anna curled into a ball around Sven and dragged the covers up over her head, taking refuge in the warm darkness underneath.

"Ugh. Why do these things happen to me, Sven?" Anna whispered, pressing her nose up against Sven's fuzzy snout and looking into his puppy-dog eyes. A soft smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she gently combed her fingers through his fur. "I think you'd like her, though. Really. I mean, yeah, she's seems kind of… _rough_ around the edges, but…" Anna pulled Sven flush against her chest and let her eyes fall shut, "I can tell she has a good heart. You know – under all that ice." She yawned. "And the super badass flannel. And the combat boots. And… well, and that super-hot-but-super-scary smirk. You know, what? It's just… it's _deep_. But it's there. I'm telling you, Sven. She may hide up in that ice castle they call a lab, but she has a warm heart. I know it."

Another yawn tore from Anna's lips as she nuzzled Sven's back, finally succumbing to sleep.

"But… I-I totally think thah the 'niverse is out tah get me, Sven," she rambled, eyes drooping. "Iss out tah get me…"

* * *

**AN: I just have to say this because it's making me laugh (and because the clearly-awesome Bueller806 brought up the Chemistry pun thing):**

**To everyone who followed/reviewed/favorited this story:**

_Are you made of Copper and Tellurium? Because you're CuTe._

Ha. Ok, I made the joke. I did the thing. I feel better now. But really, though – thank you.


	3. The Safety Glasses Escalation

**AN: Ok, so it's **_**almost**_** time for an actual interaction between them. Sorry, sorry – the world needs to be built first. But, alas, the Rube Goldberg machine is almost complete. Really. I swear. We're nearing the activation energy threshold. Next chapter we get to catalyze the reaction and watch this hot mess unfold. (Don't get mad – you **_**asked**_** for the Chemistry jokes, remember? =P )**

**3. The Safety Glasses Escalation**

It was three minutes to nine when the classroom finally started to fill with students. Anna forced back an eye roll from where she sat in the middle of the third row while some clearly hung-over wannabe frat boys ambled through the door to Conlon 410.

_Seriously? It's the second day of school. Gross._

Her weary gaze returned to her computer screen before she bit off a mouthful of her blueberry scone and downed a swallow of her grande vanilla latte. It wasn't that she didn't _like_ partying or going out or any of that – it was just that… well, there was a time and a place. And the second day of class was decidedly _not _either of them – especially in a field where, much to her chagrin at times, appearances were everything. Clearly none of that made any difference to them, though – judging by the dark sunglasses on almost every guy and the sheer number of girls decked out in nothing but a disheveled topknot, hoodie, dark circles under their eyes, a massive bottle of water to stave off dehydration and yoga pants.

"Good morning. I'm Professor Shapiro and welcome to Intro to Marketing."

Anna took another sip of her latte and peered over the top of her laptop screen at the woman who had just walked into the room. The seriousness in her voice brought the ambient noise to a dull murmur, punctuated only by the sound of someone receiving a text.

"Please turn off your phones. And you might as well turn off your computers, too. You won't be needing them in lectures for this course."

"But what if we need to take notes?"

Anna watched, biting back a smirk as the professor turned her steely gaze on a particularly tall, muscular boy – decked out from head to toe in pastels – sitting in the front row.

"A pen and paper worked for me," Professor Shapiro said pointedly, "and it will work for y-"

The door to the room flung open.

_Holy. Fucking. Shit._

In sauntered a mess of gorgeously messy platinum blonde hair, blue-and-green plaid flannel and black ripped jeans. And, of course, _combat boots_.

If Professor Shapiro thought she was getting an apology for the interruption, she clearly had another thing coming as the girl brushed right past her and headed for the only two empty seats left in the classroom.

_I'm gonna fucking die this semester. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. FUCK. Are you _kidding_ me?! What is she even _doing_ here?!_

Anna's body went completely rigid as she glued her eyes to the empty Word document on her computer screen, forcing herself to _not_ under _any_ circumstances look at the girl who was making a beeline for the back row.

_Great. She can't possibly find another row to sit-_

Anna's eyes flew wide open. Pupils dilating. Heart slamming against the inside of her ribcage.

_These _are_ the only empty seats. In the whole entire… and they're right next to… oh, I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna fucking d-_

She was snapped out of her reverie by a loud _thunk_ as the girl dropped unceremoniously into the rolling leather chair to Anna's right.

_Whatever you do, DO NOT make eye contact_.

Out of the corner of her eye, Anna could see the girl set a silver coffee tumbler on top of the granite before dropping her well-worn charcoal messenger bag onto her lap and sliding down in the seat until she found a comfortable position. Anna had to bite her lip so hard she nearly drew blood to keep from smiling when she saw the arc reactor patch stitched onto the front of the bag.

_That's… oh, God, that's actually adorable._

By that time she assumed Professor Shapiro had either forgotten her initial indignation or just chosen to ignore it, because her voice was yet again droning on in the background. A Moleskine that was clearly being recycled from another class got tossed onto the desk beside the tumbler. Anna watched intently in the reflection of her computer screen as the girl sat up just a bit and reached out to rest her forearms on the edge of the smoky granite worktop. The calculator watch was still there. There was no mistaking it – the girl was undoubtedly Elsa Arendelle.

Anna shifted awkwardly in her seat as she watched Elsa twirl her mechanical pencil in her left hand, the defined muscles of her forearm tensing and relaxing under her milky skin as the pencil bobbed and weaved through her fingers.

_Wow. Muscles. Ok. Because I _really_ needed yet another reason to be attracted to her. Great. Fucking hell – even her hands are hot. Oh, shit! _Anna_! Don't think of – oh, no, come on! Don't… oh, but those arms… and what she could do with her fingers… oohh… unff…_

"Safety Glasses, right?"

The top of Anna's coffee cup flew off as her hand clenched around it. She let out a quiet, shocked squeak as the top flung condensation in her face before landing squarely on her keyboard. Her ears absolutely _glowed_ tomato red when she heard Elsa's hushed laughter.

"Geez," Elsa smirked. "Maybe you should start carrying them around with you."

Anna swallowed thickly as she wiped the water droplets from her forehead and nose.

"I'm not _always_ this clumsy," she said self-consciously, finally meeting Elsa's eyes – even if only for a moment.

Anna's heart lurched as Elsa's eyes widened, the older girl's mouth dropping slightly open to form a perfect "O".

"Um, I… I didn't," Elsa shook her head, quickly turning back to her notebook, "I-I didn't mean to sound like such a jerk just-just now… I'm sorry." The older girl's body stiffened. "That was unprofessional," she said – her voice now laced with the same seriousness it held the night before in the lab.

_Wait, what?_

In Anna's realm of possibilities for what Elsa could have said, that definitely wasn't one of them. She blinked at Elsa as the blonde opened her notebook, flipping past the Chemistry notes and something that looked like drawings of snowflakes. Lots of snowflakes. And a few smiling snowmen here and there, too.

_Oh, my God. She's… holy crap, she's actually a total sweetheart. I _knew_ it! Wait. Fuuuuuuuck. Now you're __really__ in trouble. Oh, man. She looks like you kicked a puppy. Fix it, Anna. Come on – you can do this._

"What's this?" Anna asked quietly as she pointed to Elsa's coffee tumbler, casting a glance over at Shapiro to make sure she was still lecturing before looking back at the girl next to her.

"Wha_-? _Oh," Elsa shrugged. "It's a… it's a caffeine molecule 'cause it's, you know… coffee…"

"Oh, cool," Anna said, grinning a bit.

"Not exactly the word I would use, but sure," Elsa said evenly as she began to jot down notes.

And just like that Anna was shut out again. Not that she was ever really let in, but the door was at least cracked open for just a moment. Still, it was enough to make Anna's heart swell. She opened her mouth to say something, but instead pulled the corner of her bottom lip into her mouth and watched in silence as Elsa zoned out of their exchange and into the lecture.

* * *

"And by the time I got my laptop into my bag and looked up again, she was just _gone_."

"…And you're _sure_ she's not just a figment of your imagination…?"

"_Kristoff_!" Anna growled loudly, her voice echoing across the empty courtyard behind the Avery Anthropology building.

"Ok, ok, ok," the boy laughed, his soft blonde hair bouncing into his eyes with each chuckle. "I'm sorry – I couldn't help it."

"This is _serious_," Anna all but whined. "I'm gonna die in this class, Kristoff! _Die_!"

"Alright there, panic-pants – just take a breather," he soothed, gently pushing her chamomile tea closer to her on the table.

Anna narrowed her eyes at him for a moment before snorting huffily and taking a gulp of her tea.

"Good," Kristoff nodded, smirking ever so slightly. "Now what happened exactly?"

"_Ugh_," Anna groaned. "I just _told_ you, Kris! Weren't you listening?"

"Yeah – I was _trying _to, but I don't understand _fangirl_," Kristoff retorted.

"Which explains why you can never get a date," Anna mumbled teasingly.

"_Hey_!" Kristoff playfully narrowed his eyes at her. "We're here because of _your_ problems, remember? I had an awesome first two days, thank you very much."

A soft sigh escaped Anna's lips.

"I'm sorry," she shook her head, relaxing a bit into her chair. "I've been going on about me all afternoon and I didn't even stop to ask how your day was."

"Oh, Anna – come on," Kristoff smiled a bit, gently nudging her arm. "We can talk about my schedule for the rest of the semester. You're the one who needs to vent right now, so _vent_."

Anna bit her lip apprehensively.

"Come on," Kristoff urged. "Tell me if I have to pull the big brother card and scare the crap out of your new girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Anna gasped, mortified as she looked around to make sure the courtyard was still empty.

When she glanced back at Kristoff she saw his lips had curled into an amused smirk.

"Oh, man – you have it _bad_," he chuckled.

"You have _no _idea," Anna groaned miserably, hiding her face in her hands as her ears flushed red and hot.

"So, come on – out with it," Kristoff urged. "So you have a crush on a teacher. Why's that such a big deal? Everyone does at some point."

_Because something changed. Because for a few seconds I saw more than just combat boots and ripped jeans. Because she really _does_ have a warm heart. …Because she's just… _different_._

Slowly dropping her hands, Anna leaned on her forearms and looked down at the navy blue plastic table. She knew how insane it sounded – even in her own head. Anna had come into contact with Elsa _twice_ and she was already drawn to her beyond all explanation. It was stupid. It was rash. It was utterly crazy – even for her. But it was the truth.

"I don't know," she murmured somewhat cautiously, refusing to meet his eyes. "Because I've had crushes before. Lots of them. Mostly all on girls, but there were a few exceptions when we were little kids. Ok, _one_. There was one exception and that was you, and, not that I don't love you and all, but I seriously doubt it counts. I mean, you know – it was when we were, like, three and I thought love just meant giving you first pick of the colored construction paper when we did arts and crafts." A smile came and went on her face. "But, I don't… I don't know." She gripped the tag of her teabag between her thumb and forefinger and traced the edge. "This feels… _different_ somehow."

_This feels… better._

* * *

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews/follows/favorites, guys. I really do appreciate it. You're good peeps. All of ya.**

**And now… because apparently this is gonna be a thing…**

**(drum roll please)**

_Anna asked her lab partner if he had any sodium hypobromite._

_He said: "NaBrO."_

cough_(…But Elsa dropped everything and synthesized it for her…)_cough

_Wait, what?_

_..._

That honestly makes absolutely no sense. Why would you give a student an industrial strength germicide? Elsa, you got some 'splaining to do.


	4. The Other Type of Chemistry

**AN: So… let's review a little basic Chem here: How can you increase the rate of a reaction? Several ways, actually. One of which (at least in the case of gasses) is increasing the pressure of a system (same mass+smaller volume=higher pressure) so, basically, there's less free space and molecules are forced to collide. So… what happens when we put a couple of molecules (say, Elsa and Anna) in a confined situation…? (See, this is where you should start regretting getting me on the Chemistry pun tangent. Because shit like this happens.)**

**4. The Other Type of Chemistry**

Anna shifted uncomfortably in her seat as Wannabe Frat Boy Clone #3 (as she had so _affectionately_ named him) tried to inconspicuously inch his chair closer to hers.

_Oh, come on – not this again._

She brought her hand up against the side of her face, leaning her forehead against her palm as her fingers tangled in her soft red hair – anything to keep her from having to look at him. Her muscles tensed, every inch of her body going completely rigid when he moved his arm and leaned closer. With his chin resting on his palm, the boy inclined his head closer. Anna couldn't help but wince as adrenaline-fueled panic ran like ice through her bloodstream.

_Fucking creeper – just stop it! Get. Away. From. Me._

She almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of a loud _thunk_ beside her – like someone kicking a chair. Hard.

"Hey."

_…Is that… Elsa…? But how's that…? She never comes to class… She's… _here_?!_

"Hey – I dropped my pencil. Can, uh, can you get it for me?"

_Holy shit._

Anna's heart skipped a beat. They hadn't exchanged even so much as a glance in the three weeks since the first Tuesday of the semester – not even in lab.

With a quiet hiss of distaste, the boy sat back up in his chair and roughly whipped around to face the owner of the voice.

"_What_?" he barked quietly.

"My pencil – I dropped it. Accidentally. Can you get it for me?"

"You could say 'please,' you know," he mumbled bitterly, bending over and picking up the offending writing instrument before shoving it back onto the granite worktop the row above them.

"_You_ could learn how to treat people with respect," Elsa growled, her voice laced with disgust.

_Did she… did she just… stick up for me…?_

Out of the corner of her eye Anna could see the boy's jaw muscles clench. He glared at the girl behind them for a few more moments before turning back to his spiral notebook – this time decidedly back in his own place.

Heart hammering against her ribs, Anna took a deep breath and slowly turned around.

Her breath hitched.

…_Elsa._

The older girl had her nose buried in her Moleskine, her white knuckles standing pronounced from even her ivory complexion as she scratched her pencil back and forth on the page. If Anna hadn't known better, she could have sworn she saw the faintest trace of a snarl tugging at Elsa's crimson lips.

"Safety Glasses," the blonde said quietly, acknowledging the younger girl.

"H-Hi," Anna squeaked.

_Seriously?! The girl doesn't even _look_ at you for three weeks and that's the absolute best you can do?_

An amused snort and a smirk met her words as Elsa continued to write, cerulean eyes still focused intently on the page before her.

"_If you two wouldn't mind…_"

Elsa's hand stilled at the sound of Professor Shapiro's voice. Anna whipped around to see her professor standing directly in front of her, peering down at the redhead through her rectangular, tortoise-shell rimmed glasses.

_Oh, fuck._

"May I proceed…?" Professor Shapiro asked sharply.

"I… um, sorry…" Anna stammered, dropping her head.

"_Thank you_," her professor snipped before turning and walking back to the front of the room.

Wannabe Frat Boy Clone #3 let out a quiet chuckle as an impish smirk spread across his face, which was quickly followed by another muffled _thunk_.

_Elsaohmygod!_

"Fucking _hell_," he hissed, rounding on Elsa once Shapiro had passed by him.

"Foot slipped," she said nonchalantly.

Anna couldn't bite back her grin if she tried.

"Anyway, as I was saying before I was so," Shapiro threw Anna and Elsa a pointed look, "_rudely_ interrupted: we have five minutes left of class, which we'll use to assign final project partners. The add/drop date passed as of yesterday, which means that the people you see around you will most likely be here all semester."

_Great. I'm gonna be stuck with Asshat-Frat-Brat for the rest of eternity._

"Meaning," Shapiro continued, "that I can now give you your respective team assignments. If you remember, the first day of class I gave you a miniature version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment. It's based on those results that I assigned you to your group. Once I call out your team, you will come up and collect the instruction paper from the table here, and then you're free to go." She flipped the cover page on the set of papers she was holding. "Team 1," the professor read aloud before an almost dark, amused smirk formed on her lips. "Ahh – how fitting. Team 1 – Miss Anna Snowe and Miss Elsa Arendelle."

_Wait, what?!_

Professor Shapiro looked up at them, immediately quirking an eyebrow and narrowing her eyes at the girls when neither moved an inch, only staring back at her with matching shocked expressions.

"Come collect your assignment paper," the professor repeated again. "You're excused."

Slowly and silently they both gathered their belongings and headed to the front of the room. Every pair of eyes in the lecture hall bored into the girls as first Elsa and then Anna grabbed one of the packets from the desk before heading out the door.

Anna's breath caught in her chest as the door shut behind them. Elsa stood in silence just in front of her, icy gaze focused intently on the paper in her hand.

_Ok. Wow. That actually just happened. _This_ is actually happening. She's standing _right there_. We're project partners. For a semester-freaking-long project. Holy shit._

"So…" Anna breathed, _instantly_ regretting it when Elsa turned to her and looked her straight in the eyes for the first time in three weeks.

_OhmygodholyshithelpmeIcan'tdothis._

As if Anna wasn't already panicking enough, Elsa took a step closer. The redhead's heart started to pound, blood rushing to her now-glowing ears. Even Elsa's scent was completely intoxicating – a heady blend of warm vanilla and honey, with touches of nutmeg and coffee. It had Anna's head swimming in seconds as a pang of white heat shot straight to her core.

_Oohh, God. Wow. Fucking hell she's so hot. No! No – stop. Don't lose your shit. She's standing _right_ there! Just say something!_

"Wow, you're… you're actually really tall," Anna blurted out. Her eyes shot open, hands flying to her mouth once she realized what she'd said.

Elsa laughed, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth as she chuckled – something that made Anna's heart absolutely _melt_.

"Thanks, Safety Glasses," the older girl remarked teasingly. "Or, _Anna_, apparently."

"Oh," Anna nodded, swallowing thickly. "Yeah. That's-that's me. Sorry, I thought you knew…"

"There's, like, forty people in my lab section, and I'm kind of shi- um, _bad_ with names," Elsa shrugged somewhat sheepishly. "Sorry. I'll remember now. I promise."

_Why are you always apologizing? You're kind of fucking perfect._

"It's not a big deal," Anna shook her head, gaining a sudden bolt of confidence. "So, um – do you want to, like, get a coffee or something and figure out what we're gonna do about this project? I mean, I know it's a semester-long thing, but, I don't know, it'd probably help to at least figure out what we have to do and stuff…"

"Oh," Elsa's eyes widened, her hand tightening around the strap of her messenger bag. "Um, I actually have a-a math class right now, but… uh, later, I guess – sure."

"Cool," Anna beamed – her voice more than a little enthusiastic for the situation. She paused for a moment before clearing her throat and shrugging, "I mean, um, yeah – that sounds great."

"Uh, good," Elsa nodded. She glanced down at her watch and bit her lip. "Does eleven-thirty work?"

"Yeah – yeah, absolutely," Anna said softly. "I don't have class again until three, so…"

"Cool," Elsa breathed, backing away from Anna and towards the sliding glass doors that led outside of the main classroom building. "Well, I have to run, so… um, I'll-I'll see you later, I guess…"

"Yeah," Anna smiled. "It's a date."

_WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!_

"Oh, my God," Anna gasped. "I… I wasn't… I-I didn't meant it like _that_…"

"I got it, Safety Glasses," Elsa called nonchalantly over her shoulder as she walked through the glass doors. "I got it."

* * *

"Hey."

Anna's head snapped up at the soothing sound of Elsa's voice.

"Hi," she grinned.

Elsa offered her a small, almost apprehensive smile as she glanced around the Starbucks – looking for any familiar faces from her lab.

"Um, look," she sighed, her shoulders drooping a bit. "I-I really don't want to be rude or anything, but… do you think we could maybe get the coffee to go and head somewhere a little less… out in the open…?"

_Ok, ouch._

"Oh, _God_, that sounded horrible," Elsa winced, backtracking at the sight of Anna's crestfallen expression. "It's-it's not that I don't _want _to be seen with you or something, because-because I… I _do _want to be seen with you, but I-" Elsa stopped, her eyes widening and jaw dropping open at the realization of what she'd just said. "I-I mean… I do, um… I… wait, _what_…?"

The older girl audibly gulped when Anna gently touched her arm – something that took both of them by surprise.

"I get it," the redhead said reassuringly, shrugging. "You're my TA – it could look weird if taken out of context. Risking impropriety and all that…"

Elsa let out a relieved sigh, nodding.

"Yeah," she breathed. "_Thank you_."

"Of course," Anna nodded, giving the blonde a soft smile.

"Cool," Elsa said, smiling a bit in return. "Um… you-you get a grande vanilla latte, right?"

_She knows my coffee order._

"…Y-Yeah," Anna blinked up at the girl.

"Great," Elsa nodded, starting towards the queue. "I'll be right back."

_She. Knows. My. Coffee. Order._

Anna couldn't help but ogle as Elsa made her way through the queue line. How the blonde managed to look so incredibly attractive in nothing but a plain black hoodie and blue jeans, she had no clue. Sure, it probably had something to do with her shapely hips and gorgeously toned legs, but it was mostly just because of the fact that Elsa was purely, absolutely _beautiful_. It was a flawless sort of beauty that Anna had never seen before in anyone – one that stemmed from _so_ much more than looks. Of course Anna was attracted to her because of that, too. (_Obviously._) But it was something else now – something that made Anna's heart skip a beat every time she heard the blonde's gentle voice, or listened to the rhythmic pattern of her laidback gait as she did her rounds through the rows of lab benches. Anna didn't exactly know _what_ it was, really. All she knew is that it was real. It was visceral. It _meant something_.

"You ok…?"

"Huh? Oh," Anna blinked, snapping out of her reverie. "Yeah, sorry."

"Here," Elsa smirked, handing the redhead her latte.

"Thank you," Anna smiled.

"Yeah – no worries," the blonde shrugged nonchalantly.

"So, where do you want to go?" the younger girl asked as she grabbed her backpack and headed out after Elsa.

"Uh, there's actually a nice quad-type thing behind the Anthropology building," Elsa shrugged. "We could go there."

"Oh, yeah," Anna nodded. "I was just there with Kristoff, actually."

Elsa's body stiffened.

"…Your boyfriend?" she asked coolly, shoving her free hand into her hoodie pocket.

"_Huh_?" Anna blinked.

_Well that escalated quickly…_

"Wow – I shouldn't have… that wasn't…" Elsa stammered, her eyes widening. "I'm sorry – that was so inappropriate."

"No, no," Anna shook her head, letting out a nervous laugh. "I, um – sorry, I totally forgot you don't know who he is." She shrugged, looking down at he brick path. "He's my best friend – my brother, basically. _Definitely_ not my boyfriend."

_Don't freak. Don't over-share. Let her ask you. Deep breaths. Just chill out._

"Hmm," Elsa nodded, her tone even and purposely undecipherable.

_Ok... now would be the time to ask if I have a girlfriend…_

"So how'd you end up in Chem lab, anyway?" Elsa asked quickly, shooting Anna a smirk.

_Wait, what?! No…_

"Um," Anna shrugged, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "I just kind of got placed in it. I guess Bio was full or something?"

"Must kind of suck for you," Elsa said quietly, averting her eyes to the ground.

_Wait – no. Please don't say that. Oh, my God – look at her face. Fuck._

"Nah," Anna said lightheartedly, gently nudging Elsa's arm and giving her a soft smile. "You're a pretty cool TA." Her smile widened when Elsa rolled her eyes amusedly. "No – really! Look, no one's blown anything up yet, so…"

Elsa laughed and shook her head.

"All we've done are, like, volumetric glassware labs and titrations," Elsa chuckled. "There's nothing _to_ blow up."

"Never underestimate the power of stupidity," Anna smirked.

"Oh, God – so true," Elsa smiled.

They both laughed for a moment before the conversation lulled.

"Can I ask you something…?" Anna said after a short while.

"Do I have a choice?" Elsa smirked.

"…Not really," Anna shrugged.

"Thought not," Elsa said softly, grinning a bit. "Go ahead."

"Why are you _in_ Marketing, anyway?" Anna asked curiously.

"Business minor," Elsa said, shrugging. "Parents want me to run their company after I get out of here."

"…Oh," Anna blinked. "Then why aren't you a Business major?"

"Because I kind of hate it," Elsa said quietly.

_Why the _hell_ did you ask her that? The face. Look at the face. Look what you did._

"Oh…" Anna squeaked awkwardly. "I'm… I'm sorry…"

"Ahh," Elsa brushed it off. "It's no big deal. We have to do what we have to do, right?"

"…Yeah," Anna nodded, giving Elsa her best attempt at a reassuring smile.

_Just change the subject. Anything. Puppies. Kittens. Rainbows. Make her smile._

"So, um – what was your Myers-Briggs classification, anyway?" the redhead asked, digging the paper out of her backpack as they walked.

_Really…? _That_ was the best you could do…?_

"Oh – wait it's right here," Elsa mumbled as she reached into her hoodie pocket and pulled out the folded up project paper. "I'm… _INTJ_… for whatever that's worth…"

"Wait, what?!" Anna gasped. "Seriously?"

"…Yeah…? Why…?" Elsa blinked at her.

"Oh, um – it's… it's nothing," Anna shrugged awkwardly, a blush creeping over her freckled cheeks. "It's just that… well… I'm _ENFP_…"

Elsa just stared at her for a moment before shaking her head.

"Yeah, I'm sorry – I have no idea what that's supposed to mean," she chuckled nervously.

"Sorry," Anna shook her head, wincing. "I, um – I just kind of geek out over this stuff, I guess. It's, uh – it's… well, ENFP/INTJ is basically considered by a lot of people to be the best possible pairing of personalities."

"Really?" Elsa blinked.

"Mhmm," Anna nodded. A smile broke out on her face. "I, um… I guess you could say they have really good chemistry…"

"Oh, my God – did you just make a Chemistry pun?" Elsa laughed, a wide grin spreading across her face.

"Yep," Anna nodded proudly.

"You just couldn't help that, could you?" Elsa rolled her eyes amusedly.

"Nope," Anna laughed.

The both looked at one another, Anna's heart swelling as her eyes locked with Elsa's. It only lasted a moment before Elsa quickly glanced away, clearing her throat as she awkwardly ran a hand over the back of her neck.

"…Hey, Elsa…?" Anna asked.

"Um, yeah?" Elsa replied quietly, eyes now fixed on the coffee cup in her hand.

"Thanks for helping me out this morning," the redhead murmured softly, looking over at the older girl.

Elsa's eyes widened. She turned to meet Anna's gaze, shrugging.

"Oh, it's-it's no big deal," she said gently. "He was being a jerk."

"You didn't have to do it," Anna swallowed thickly. "But I'm really thankful you did."

Elsa was silent for a moment as she averted her eyes back to her cup, tracing a finger over the indentions imprinted in the white plastic lid.

"You're one of my students," she said seriously, shrugging. "I kind of feel responsible for all of you guys."

_Wow. …Ouch…_

"One of your students…" Anna repeated mirthlessly. "Right."

* * *

**AN: Wow. So many reviews and follows and favorites and lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Thanks to all of you guys. Seriously. It's insane. You're totally awesome.**

**So… because a lot of people seemed to love the arc reactor patch:**

What would Iron Man and the Silver Surfer be if they teamed up…?

Alloys.

_Ha – see it's funny because-_

_Oh, come on – it's _funny_._

_Why is no one laughing…?_

_Is this thing on…?_

_Hello…?_

(Although, personally, I'd take Elsa's ice powers any day, but… whatever.)

Ok, I've literally been up all night writing this. So… I'm going to bed before I become any more incoherent than I already am. Night, peeps. …Erm… morning…? Yikes.


	5. Mutual Affinity

**AN: **Sorry for the delay, guys – I have a bunch of exams coming up and a couple of time-intensive projects for my lab internship, so writing has had to fall by the wayside a bit. **Ok, so now's probably a good time to mention that this story was never intended to be solely from Anna's POV, so it'll now be somewhat from Elsa's POV as well; largely because Elsa is my spirit animal and I want to get into her head. **(You thought I was going to say, "get into her pants," didn't you? Come on. Admit it. At least one of you did. Haha. But, no. Her head.) _And oh, my God, I've started to make puns out of the titles now someone please stop me this is terrible it's becoming a problem._

**5. Mutual Affinity**

Elsa slowly pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, her teeth gently digging into ruby flesh as slushed ice spray slowly dripped from her brow and nose.

_ Gross._

"I have to go to class, you know," she remarked coolly, finally opening her ice-blue eyes to see Olaf leaning over the boards in front of her with a bit-back amused smile that threatened to explode onto his face at any moment.

"I know," he intoned happily, wiggling back and forth on his skates as he continued to beam at her. "But a little ice never bothered you, anyway."

Elsa swallowed back a grin as she reached up to dust the melting ice from her braided hair.

"You're an idiot," she rolled her eyes, forcing herself to not give her best friend the satisfaction of a smile. Her sparkling cerulean eyes darted over his shoulder before again meeting his gaze.

"But you still love meeaaAAHHH!" Olaf yelped as he was checked from the side and slammed down onto the ice.

A snort of laughter tore from Elsa's throat, her hand flying up to cover her mouth as she shoved her Chemistry notes to the side and stood up to lean over the boards.

"Oh," she smirked teasingly, reaching down to grab Olaf's chin between her thumb and index finger. "Don't I, though." Chuckling again, she looked up at the hulking figure still standing over Olaf. "Thanks, Marsh."

His name was technically Marshall, but he was really just one big teddy bear (you know, unless you were playing against him), so everyone on the team got to calling him Marshmallow.

"Hey," Marshall grinned, gently punching Elsa on the shoulder with his thickly-padded blue glove. "Gotta take care of my Els-Bells, right?"

"Oh, I think I can handle this one," Elsa snickered, gently pushing Olaf as he tried to scramble back to his feet.

"Els, you could take down this whole fucking team," Marshall smiled somewhat proudly. "No one would ever doubt that." He winked at her and backed away from the boards. "We're just protective of our tiny baby sister."

_Little shit._

"Hey!" Elsa gasped, smiling in spite of herself as she tried to take a playful swipe at the hockey player roughly two times her size. "I am _not_ tiny!"

"D'aww," Olaf smirked, backing up alongside Marshall. "It's like a little baby unicorn."

_Little shits. Plural._

"You guys fucking suck," Elsa huffed, front teeth digging into her bottom lip to keep from laughing.

"Marshmallow! Snowman! Are you teasing her again?"

"No!" the boys exclaimed in unison, eyes going wide as Coach Kai skated over.

"Mhmm," Kai hummed, eyes narrowing at them. "Marshmallow, get back to your line – we're about to run power play drills. And leave Elsa alone. She's more dedicated to this team than half of you puck-heads."

"You got it, coach," Marshall nodded, laughing. He stopped mid-turn and flashed Elsa a kind smile. "Later, Els," he said softly. "Come back when your class is over, ok? We'll all go out to Oaken's and get some real food."

Elsa couldn't help the beaming smile that spread across her face.

_I love my boys._

"God knows you need to socialize with real people after babysitting all those little freshies," Marshmallow snickered, shaking with laughter as he glided back to the blue line with Coach Kai close behind.

_And sometimes I hate them…_

"_Hey_!" she barked after him. "Leave my kids alone!"

_Wait, what? Did I seriously just call them "my kids"? Oh, fuck me. I'm getting old._

"Something you haven't told me, Els?" Olaf teased as he skated closer. "Kids…?"

"Oh, shut up," Elsa rolled her eyes as she dropped onto the bench once again. "It was just… I don't know, a slip of the tongue or whatever."

"Or maybe you're actually staring to like being a TA," Olaf suggested softly, leaning his weight on the boards to steady himself on the ice.

_Yeah, well, I'd like it a helluva lot more if I didn't have _her_ in _my_ lab._

"It's ok, I guess," Elsa shrugged.

"_Wow_," Olaf blinked, grinning. "That's a big improvement for you." He backtracked at the look she shot him. "Ok, I mean, like, that's… well, it's just that you, you know, hated it to begin with. And you were… kind of scared they all hated you – which I still think is totally ridiculous, by the way, because no one could ever hate you-"

_Mega wrong. And maybe they don't hate me, but they're terrified of me. All of them except for – __**no**__. Stop. Don't think about her. Just don't. She's your student, you're her TA – project partners or not. You're not friends. You have a professional relationship, and that's _it_._

"**ELSA**?!"

_Huh?_

"Oh," Elsa blinked, snapping out of her reverie as Olaf waved his glove in front of her eyes. "Sorry."

"You've been a total space cadet lately, you know that?" Olaf remarked worriedly, quirking an eyebrow at her.

"I know, I know," Elsa sighed quietly. "I'm sorry – I just have some stuff on my mind."

_Not _stuff_. A girl. A girl you need to stop fucking thinking about because it's pervy and wrong and there's no way she's actually even into girls, anyway. She'd never like a stuttering idiot like y- STOP IT! Oh, my God! You're her fucking TA. Don't be such a creep! Stop. Cease. Shut the fuck up. Stop. Thinking. About. Her._

Olaf was silent for a moment as he studied Elsa's expression, which was deepening into a scowl.

"Who is she?"

_Fuck. No –wait, what?! He… he can't – don't you fucking dare say anything._

"W-What?" Elsa blinked, swallowing thickly.

_See? Stuttering idiot._

"Oh, wow," Olaf chuckled softly. "You have it _bad_ for her, don't you?"

_Yes._

"No!" Elsa squeaked.

_Fuuuuuuck._

"Oh, my God," Olaf smiled. "Wow. You're falling _hard_, Els."

"I am _not_," Elsa huffed, cheeks glowing crimson. "She's just a friend who happens to be a girl. _Nothing else_. And, I don't know – she's only kind of a friend, at that. …It's… it's complicated…"

"…Right," Olaf nodded, giving her an expression of mock seriousness. "Of course."

"She _is_!" Elsa exclaimed insistently, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's just nice to sometimes have someone other than you puck-heads to talk to, considering you're all about as useless as moss-covered boulders when it comes to talking about anything other than hockey – let alone personal shit like love or whatever…"

_God, you can be a real asshole, you know that? These guys are about the only real family you have and all you ever do is check 'em into the boards when they try to be human beings and help._

"I can see I've hit a nerve," Olaf said, undeterred. He reached out his stick and gently poked her shin. "Well, I'm glad you're at least friends with her. Not that, you know, we don't love having you here all the time, but, as your unofficial-official big brothers, we want to see you happy."

"I _am_ happy," Elsa said half-heartedly.

_Yes, that most definitely sounded as pathetic as you think._

"Given that sparkle in your eyes when you think about her, I just might believe you this time, Els," Olaf said softly, turning to skate back to the rest of the team.

_…Wait… what…?_

"You better get to class!" Olaf called over his shoulder, smirking. "Your _kids _are waiting."

Elsa's eyes flew open, his comment momentarily forgotten as she looked down at her watch to see it was seven minutes to six.

"Shit."

* * *

"You're coming."

"Why?" Anna groaned loudly, yelping when she barely ducked the North Mountain University hoodie that was chucked at her head from the other side of the booth. "_Rapunzel_!"

"Sorry, coz – you don't have a say in this," Rapunzel shrugged unapologetically.

"I'm not going. I let you drag me out to dinner today so you wouldn't make me go to the game Friday," Anna mumbled defiantly, turning her gaze back to the Chemistry notes in her hands. "I just… I have to study, ok? I need to learn this stuff."

"Anna, sweetie, it's one night," she coaxed, reaching out and stroking the redhead's arm. "It's Eugene's first game. He'd be really happy if you were there with us. And besides, you _just_ got out of Chem lab," Rapunzel blinked, flicking the papers in her cousin's hands. "You need to take a break, Anna – you're seriously going overboard with this. It's one class."

"Two, technically," Anna said pointedly, tugging her papers closer and away from her cousin. "And they're _hard_!"

Rapunzel apprehensively chewed on her bottom lip. It wasn't like Anna to study _period_ – let alone freak out over a class so irrelevant to her major.

"Anna…" Rapunzel murmured softly. "Look at me."

_Oh, come on – I'm not five._

"What…?" Anna mumbled, sighing as she finally tore her eyes from the lab worksheet detailing their latest titration; her heart sank at the concern etched in her cousin's face.

_Uh-oh. Here it comes._

"Is everything ok?" Rapunzel asked bluntly.

_Please don't do this…_

"You know, it's kind of insulting that you're freaking out about how _strange_ it is for me to actually study for once," Anna grumbled.

"That's not what I'm saying and you know it," Rapunzel pointed out softly. "I'm just worried. I mean, studying is one thing, but-"

"But _what_?" Anna pressed edgily.

"Ok, what I'm _trying_ to say is that I just want to make sure nothing _else_ is going on," Rapunzel said pacifically. "If you're suddenly just really interested in Chemistry, then that's totally fine. I just want to make sure that's _all _it is."

Anna let out a long sigh as she looked into her cousin's usually-bright emerald eyes, now clouded over with worry.

_Great job, genius. You're seriously the world's worst cousin. Look at her face._

"It's… it's nothing, Rapunzel," Anna said softly, shrugging as she laid her notes down on the table. "I'm fine – I promise. It's just… it's not important. Really."

"You really expect me to believe that…?" Rapunzel asked quietly.

_No. Of course not._

"Anna," the brown-haired girl pressed on, "I'm your cousin. You can tell me anything – you know that."

"I know, I know," Anna nodded, pulling her bottom lip into her mouth for a moment. "I'm not hiding anything from you, I just… I'd rather not dwell on it, I guess…"

"Still doesn't hurt to talk it out…" Rapunzel prompted gently.

Groaning inwardly, Anna dropped her gaze from Rapunzel's eyes and leaned heavily on the wooden table. For a moment she watched as condensation dripped down the side of her glass into the ever-growing ring of water beneath it on the paper coaster.

"I'm… well, I guess I'm studying so hard – or, you know, am actually interested in doing well in a class I'd otherwise really _hate_ – because I… I-I kind of have a-"

"Feisty-pants! Sunshine! What's up?"

Anna and Rapunzel both nearly jumped out of their skin at the sound of Kristoff's booming voice cutting through the loud din of the restaurant. The brown-haired girl gave him a somewhat forced smile while Anna just beamed at him and scooted over so he could sit.

_Boo-yah. Saved by the bro._

"I've been trying to find you guys for forever," Kristoff said, grinning happily as he slid onto the wooden bench next to Anna and dropped his arms onto the table. "Why didn't you tell me you were at Oaken's? This place has awesome burgers. _So_ much better than dining hall food."

"Well, _actually_," Rapunzel interjected, pointedly clearing her throat, "I just wanted to bring Anna out so we could, you know, _girl talk_."

"Oh," Kristoff blinked, his shoulders drooping a bit. "Sorry. Um, I didn't mean to interrupt anything…"

"Don't be silly!" Anna chuckled, wrapping her arms around his – much to her cousin's chagrin. "You're always welcome with us, Kris – you know that."

Kristoff let out an uneasy laugh at the look on Rapunzel's face.

"Yeah – yeah, sure," he nodded awkwardly, flashing Anna a goofy sideways smile.

"Well, now that you're here," Rapunzel said seriously, "maybe you can get Anna to fess up to whatever's going on with her and this Chemistry class…"

"Oh – you mean her massive crush on her TA?" Kristoff blinked.

_FUCK!_

"KRISTOFF!" Anna squeaked, her eyes slamming open and jaw completely slack as she recoiled back from him.

"Oohh, _no_," Rapunzel breathed, her lips quivering with how hard she was working to bite back an amused grin. "You _what_? Anna!"

"You big idiot!" Anna growled, roughly punching Kristoff in the arm.

"_OW!_" Kristoff yelped, hand flying to his aching shoulder. "I thought she would've known! She's your _cousin_!"

Anna narrowed her eyes at him, pursing her lips.

"Well, it's not exactly information that I want," a slap to the arm, "widely," another punch, "publicized!"

"Ok, ok, ok," Rapunzel interjected, standing to lean across the table and forcibly separate the resident odd couple. "Easy there, punch-pants."

"_Thank you_," Kristoff sighed, scooting further away from Anna on the bench.

"I'm fine," Anna huffed as Rapunzel held her arm. "I'm cool."

"Alright, then," Rapunzel murmured, letting go.

Anna grabbed her Chemistry notes off the table and went to whack them against Kristoff's arm before Rapunzel grabbed them out of her hand.

"_Anna_!" the brown-haired girl yelped.

"HEY!" Kristoff exclaimed. "Stop acting like a five-year old!"

Anna crossed her arms over her chest and sank down further on the bench, pouting.

"Well, don't go around telling other people's secr-"

"So… _this_ is Kristoff, then…?"

_No. No, no, no, no, no. NOMYGODFUCKINGHELLPLEASENO._

Anna's face started to burn. Swallowing thickly, she slowly pushed herself up higher in her seat and turned around. Her heart knocked wildly against the inside of her ribcage as she met the girl's piercing gaze.

"H-H-Hi, E-Elsa," she stammered quietly.

_Great. Just fantastic. You can't even say her name without sounding like a complete idiot!_

Kristoff and Rapunzel exchanged confused glances as the tall blonde girl smirked down at their friend.

"But, o-oh right," Anna shook her head, looking between Elsa and her friends. "This is Kristoff and that's Rapunzel."

"Hi," Elsa nodded somewhat awkwardly.

"And, guys," Anna gulped, wincing internally, "this is Elsa. My, uh… my Chem lab... TA…"

"_Oohh_…" both Kristoff and Rapunzel intoned in unison, eyes widening.

_FUCK._

"_Guys!_" Anna hissed in horror.

"Complaining about me behind my back, huh?" Elsa smirked lightheartedly, trying anything she could think of to lessen Anna's clear discomfort.

_Wait, what?!_

"W-What?" Anna gaped, even more horrified as she turned back to Elsa. "No! No, I'd never do that!"

"Don't-Don't freak," Elsa swallowed, her smirk faltering.

She reached out and put a shaky hand on Anna's shoulder.

_Oh, my God. She's touching you. She's touching you. She's fucking touching you. Don't spaz. Don't you fucking dare spaz out._

"I was just kidding." A deep blush crept over her Elsa's ivory cheeks. "S-Sorry. Bad joke."

_Oh – oh, no. Wait. Please smile again. Don't… no – _I'm_ sorry…_

"No, it, uh," Anna gaped, "I just… I don't want you to think that I'd ever…"

"I-I don't," Elsa shook her head, smiling a bit. "I know you wouldn't. I mean, hell, you're the only one who actually gets 100s on the pre-lab quizzes…"

"Wait, really…?" Kristoff blinked.

Elsa and Anna both jumped a bit, snapping back into reality as they turned to notice Kristoff and Rapunzel still staring at them.

"Um, yeah," Elsa nodded, looking at the kind-looking blonde boy. "She's, um… she's got quite the, uh, _affinity_ for it, actually…"

Anna couldn't help but grin.

_She doesn't think I'm an idiot. She actually thinks I have potential. And, wait, did she just-?_

"Did _you_ just make a Chemistry pun…?' Anna blinked, heart skipping a beat as she looked into Elsa's sparkling cerulean eyes.

"Well, you know," Elsa smirked, "I had to get you back somehow…"

"Ok, mine was clearly better," Anna blurted out, laughing.

"_Hey_!" Elsa chuckled, reaching her hand up to cover her mouth. "I _tried_, ok?"

"ELS-BELLS! STOP CHATTIN' UP THE GIRL AND GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE! FOOD'S UP!"

_Whoamygod._

Elsa's grip on the edge of the table tightened until her knuckles shone white.

"MARHSALL!" she screeched, gaping at him.

"What?" Marshall laughed, beaming at her from a few tables over.

"God, that… I-I… Anna, I…" Elsa stammered, shaking her head as the blood drained from her cheeks. "I'm so, _so_ sorry – they're just my embarrassing friends. They don't mean anything by-"

_Ouch._

"I got it," Anna nodded, giving Elsa a halfhearted reassuring smile. She glanced at Rapunzel and Kristoff before looking back at Elsa. "They wouldn't be friends if they didn't make you freak out sometimes."

"Yeah," Elsa swallowed, smiling awkwardly as she backed away from the booth. "Um, well – I have to go, 'cause, um, my-my food is… You know what? I'll just… I'll see you in class tomorrow, ok? Ok. Bye."

With that, the blonde girl turned on her heel and rushed back over her table.

"…Well… that was… um…" Kristoff mumbled quietly, breaking the silence that descended over the booth.

Anna hesitantly turned back to her friends, instantly blushing at the excited smirk lighting up her cousin's face.

"You go, girl," Rapunzel chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. "She might even have a bigger crush on you than you have on her."

_Wait, what?!_

"She does _not_!" Anna squeaked.

"Oh, please," Kristoff snickered, grinning.

"It's strictly professional," Anna huffed. "That's it."

"…Mhmm," Rapunzel quirked an eyebrow, unconvinced. "Sure. Whatever you say, carrot top. You two clearly have some serious _chemistry_."

Kristoff snorted with laughter.

_Fucking hell._

"Carrot tops are _green_!" Anna exclaimed, narrowing her eyes at her cousin as her ears again began to redden. "And stop it with the puns! They're not funny."

"D'aww," Rapunzel teased. "I'm sorry – is that a thing only you two do together?"

_Yes. And you can't have it._

"No!" Anna growled. "It's just… it's not – oh, just leave me alone…"

"Relax, panic-pants," Kristoff soothed, grinning. "It's just cute is all."

"It's not cute," Anna grumbled. "It's embarrassing."

"Well, whatever – but you really _should_ come to the hockey game now," Rapunzel smirked.

"Oh, God, no. _Why_?" Anna groaned.

"Because your girlfriend is best friends with half the team, by the looks of it," Kristoff shrugged.

"She's _not_ my girlf-" Anna started.

"_And_ because she's totally still staring at you, by the way."

Anna gaped at her cousin from across the table.

_Wait, what?!_

* * *

**AN: Sorry, guys! I know this took awhile to post. Thank you for sticking with me and always being such amazing readers. I'm sort of in the middle of two hell weeks right now for school, but I'll do my best to get stuff up for you guys! Thank you for being so patient! (And for the reviews/follows/favs!) You are truly **_**awesome **_**peeps!**

**Ok… so…**

_**ahem**_

I'd tell you guys a Chemistry joke this time, but all the good ones Argon.

_Ha. Aha. Ahaha. Heh. Teeheehee._

_(I actually kind of like that one...)_

_Anyway…_

I feel compelled to warn you to enjoy the happy-go-lucky fluffy stuff now. While you still can. ;)

Hugs.

Love you guys.

Until next time, awesome nerds.

**Also, infinite thanks to r9khaileyissuffering for the brilliant art that I've commandeered for the story's avatar. TA!Elsa now has a face, which she's ecstatic about. (But probably not as much as Anna, who now can't pay attention in Chem lab to save her life.)**


	6. Covalent Bonding

**UPDATE as of 2/20/14: Guys, school is kicking my ass this week. I'll have a new chapter up ASAP. It won't be much longer, I promise. I'm so sorry for the delay.**

**AN: ****So… today's Chem review topic: covalent bonds. Well, basically it's a situation where two atoms are bonded together by **_**sharing**_** two valence electrons (electrons on the outermost shell, or "bonding electrons" - one from each atom) in order to achieve a more stable state. More or less: sharing is caring. Why did I even bother saying that? Because sometimes people are like electrons. And sharing them sucks. **(Especially when it comes to sharing a certain blonde who has a _slight_ affinity for combat boots. And an unusually high adorkability quotient.)

_**Also: this chapter CONTAINS TIME JUMPS. They're labeled, but still – be aware. We're picking up the week where Chapter 5 left off.**_

**6. Covalent Bonding**

**Tuesday, 9:00 PM**

Anna huffed out a soft sigh, finally dropping her notes to the floor as she collapsed back into her plush green chair that sat under her lofted bed. She absently tangled her toes in the light pink shag rug that lined the small alcove. A quick look through the black painted steel bedposts to the clock sitting on her desk told her it was nine at night.

The dorm was almost eerily silent. Freshman dorms, she'd come to realize, were never actually all that quiet. And the going-out rules that seemed to regulate most of the other students' schedules didn't really apply to first-years. Most of the girls on her floor went out at _least_ every other night of the week. Anna had no idea how they got any work done, honestly. Maybe they just didn't really care. But Anna did. Probably too much. And maybe _just_ a little bit for the wrong reasons.

Well, _reason_.

"Ugh," Anna groaned into the void of the empty room. "Elsaaaaaa… _why_…?"

Marketing that morning definitely hadn't helped the situation, either. In some crazy, totally flirtatious surge of confidence, Anna had playfully taken Elsa's Moleskine and spent the entire class time studying the brilliantly intricate snowflakes the blonde drew so frequently all over her notes. The older girl protested at first, but Anna gave her the best puppy-dog pout she could muster. Needless to say, Elsa didn't stand a chance.

As Professor Shapiro lectured on about SWOT analysis, and emboldened by Elsa's total submission to her looking through what seemed to be something very personal, Anna grabbed the pen from Elsa's hand and proceeded to draw a small replica of Elsa's signature snowflake on the blonde's milky skin.

"And she just let me do it, oh, my _God_," Anna blinked, cringing at the memory. "She's totally gonna know I'm flirting with her. I seriously need to get my shit together and keep a lid on it – _geez_!"

But Elsa _had_ just let her do it. Sure, the blonde rolled her eyes a half-dozen times, but her arm still didn't move. Not one centimeter.

And then there was _her_ snowflake.

Anna bit her lip as she reached into her backpack and pulled out her Marketing spiral. Pushing back the cover, she grabbed a chunk of paper and flipped through it – the gentle _swish_ of the lined sheets making her thumb tingle as she searched for the page of notes (what little she had) from class earlier in the day.

Staring back at her on the page was an intricate labyrinth of repeating crystalline shapes, all sketched together to create a new snowflake of Elsa's creation. Under it in Elsa's almost uncharacteristically bubbly handwriting were the words: "Anna's Snowflake."

Anna's heart swelled and her stomach churned wildly. A shaky breath escaped her lips. Kristoff really _had_ been right months ago at that table on the Anthropology patio – she _was_ falling hard.

The sound of the door opening snapped Anna out of her reverie, and she looked up to see Hannah all but stumbling through the doorway as she tripped over a running shoe with her gaze glued to her phone screen. An excited, contented smile tugged at the brunette's lips as she sidled up her gym bag further on her shoulder.

Anna quirked an eyebrow at her preoccupied roommate and smirked.

"Who are _you_ texting, missy?" she teased.

"Huh?" Hannah blinked, head snapping up so that hazel eyes met teal. A bashful grin spread across Hannah's face. "Oh, just a girl."

"_Oohh_," Anna intoned lightheartedly as she got up and walked over to her roommate, gently poking her in the shoulder. "Just _a girl_, huh?"

"_Yes_," Hannah rolled her eyes, laughing. She dropped her gym bag and walked over to her futon to sit down. "Just _a girl_."

"Well, does this girl have _a name_?" Anna chuckled.

"Uhm, _Belle_," Hannah said, finally putting her phone to sleep and setting it down beside her on the futon. "Her name's Belle. I've been talking to her in Bio for awhile now, and we just ran into each other at the gym."

"Hmm," Anna hummed, winking teasingly at her roommate. "Sounds like a nice first date."

"Oh, shut up," Hannah rolled her eyes, chuckling. "It was just… I don't know – a thing."

"Sounds like a _date_," Anna snickered.

"_Noooo_," Hannah intoned. "We just went running on the track and then, you know… got a smoothie."

Anna's eyes widened, her jaw dropping as she looked at her roommate excitedly.

"That's _so_ a date!" she exclaimed. "Did you share a smoothie?!"

"…Maybe…" Hannah said quietly, trying to bite back a smile.

"Oh, my God," Anna beamed, gently poking Hannah in the shoulder a few times. "I ship it."

"Oh, geez," Hannah laughed. "_Anna_."

"What?!" Anna giggled. "I'm excited for you!" She sighed and looked around at the room. "God knows one of us needs to get some action."

"Speaking of one of us," Hannah said pointedly, gently kicking Anna's shin with the toe of her running shoe. "What's up with you on the girlfriend front, missy? We never talk about _your_ love life anymore."

"That's because _my_ love life is nonexistent," Anna deflected teasingly, grabbing the red tie that hung from its place of honor atop Hannah's bookshelf. "And _you_, on the other hand, hang this baby on the door at least once a week."

"Ok, just because I get more _sex_ doesn't mean that there's nothing to talk about on your end," Hannah laughed, tugging the tie from Anna's hands and tossing it back up on the shelf.

"Ugh – my life is boring," Anna shrugged, desperately hoping Hannah would just drop the subject as she sank down into her green chair opposite Hannah's futon. "We really don't need to dwell on how much that sucks."

"Oh, come on," Hannah pressed further. She grabbed onto the cool steel guard rail of Anna's bed and leaned into the alcove beneath, hovering over the redhead. "There has to be _someone_."

Anna swallowed thickly.

"So there _is_," Hannah prodded.

"It's… it's nothing," Anna shook her head. "Really. It'll never happen."

"Oh, come on," Hannah said encouragingly. "Never say never, An. Is she cute?"

"Ugh," Anna groaned, slumping back in her chair. Talking about Elsa just a _little_ bit couldn't hurt, right? Unfortunately for her, it was never just _a little bit_ when it came to Elsa. "She's _gorgeous_. Not just cute – she's… _God_… she's beautiful. She's got this smile that just... unf. And her voice is so soft. Oh, and don't even get me started on the boots. And her _hair_. I'm not normally one for blondes, but-"

Anna stopped, swallowing. Her stomach flipped. She couldn't risk saying too much or Hannah might figure it out, which would be all sorts of terrible for everyone - especially since she and Elsa had the same major.

"Damn, dude," Hannah laughed. "You're really hung up on this chick, huh?"

"You have _no _idea," Anna mumbled guiltily.

"Why don't you ever talk about her?" Hannah asked curiously. "Or _to_ her?"

Anna froze, her breathing quickening as her ears began to glow crimson.

"Um, well…" she hesitated. "I don't know… I-I guess it's just… _complicated_."

"Well, that's a load of bullshit," Hannah smirked.

Anna gaped up at her.

"Look, I'm just saying that everything's a little _complicated_, you know?" Hannah backtracked. "You have to take a chance."

"She's… I just… I'm not her type…" Anna murmured cryptically, shrugging as she looked down at her notes.

Hannah studied her roommate for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip as she watched Anna absently flip through her Chem lab notes.

"How do you know if you haven't tried?" she asked softly.

"Because she's…" Anna paused anxiously, "she's… _older_…"

"_Hey_," Hannah teased. "More experience."

"Oh, my God," Anna blinked. "That's… _no_ – that's so not what I'm talking about."

"I know, I know," Hannah laughed, holding up her hands in surrender. "I'm just kidding." She plopped down onto Anna's green footrest and looked at her roommate. "Sometimes you just have to take a chance, Anna. Follow your heart, go with your gut, chase your dreams – you know, all that fairytale fluff."

"Well, that makes it sound so legit, doesn't it?" Anna rolled her eyes, smiling a bit.

"Just promise me you'll think about it? And that you'll keep your head high," Hannah said encouragingly. "You sell yourself too short, you know that?"

"I just don't know if she'd be into… you know…" Anna mumbled self-consciously, "_just me_…"

"_Just_ you…?" Hannah hummed softly, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind Anna's ear. "There's nothing '_just'_ about you, Anna."

Anna looked up at her and smiled a bit.

"Thanks, Han," she said appreciatively.

Anna's eyes again darted to the clock on her desk to find that it was nearly nine-forty-five.

"Oh, crap!" she exclaimed. "I need to get my run in before the gym closes."

"You should have come with me earlier," Hannah laughed as the redhead jumped up and ran over to grab her running shoes from her closet.

"And screw up your date with Belle?" Anna laughed as she yanked off her jeans and pulled running crops over her glow-in-the-dark Batgirl panties. "No way!"

"Oh, my God, it wasn't a date," Hannah chuckled.

"Like hell it wasn't a date," Anna snickered. "I'm telling you – I ship it already."

"You're such a fangirl," Hannah rolled her eyes.

"Says the girl with the Bazinga tie she uses for sexytimes," Anna snorted, grabbing her gym bag.

"Oh, shut up," Hannah blushed.

"_Never_," Anna intoned playfully as she opened the door. She hesitated for a moment, a soft smile spreading across her face as she looked back at her roommate. "You know what? Maybe I could be her type after all – you know, if the time were right and everything."

"That's my girl," Hannah nodded, grinning.

"I won't give up hope," Anna said resolutely, swinging the door shut behind her. "Not yet! I've still got a chance!"

Hannah stood still for long while after the door slammed shut, reveling in the still silence of the harshly-lit room. Slowly she strode over to the vanity, leaning her forearms against the top of the counter as she looked into the mirror.

Hannah's lips curled into a wicked, cruel smirk, her eyes boring intently into her reflection.

"Oh, Anna," she hissed, venom dripping from every word. "Your TA? How very _freshman_ of you. Too bad Elsa will never love you back. Not if _I_ can help it, anyway."

* * *

**Wednesday, 9:00 AM**

"So… _you're_ the famous Elsa Arendelle…"

Elsa quirked an eyebrow, the muscles lining her spinal column tensing as she stiffened at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. After a moment of hesitation, she slowly turned to face the owner of the voice that had so abruptly wrecked her concentration.

The blonde's icy gaze settled on the girl. She was roughly average height – maybe a little taller – but definitely at least a year younger. Her chestnut brown hair was drawn up into a messy bun on top of her head, and the low-cut, cleavage-baring pink tank top she was sporting was a study in contradictions compared to her baggy gray sweatpants. Whoever the girl was, she was leaning casually – confidently even – up against the doorframe that marked the entry to the Chemistry Department study room. And judging by the thinly-veiled smirk, practiced nonchalance and revealing attire despite the constant sub-zero temperature shrouding the sixth floor of Langham, it was readily apparent what the girl was there to do.

_She's flirting with you._

"I think you mean _infamous_," Elsa corrected wearily.

"Mmm," the girl hummed, clearly having taken Elsa's response as an invitation to saunter into the room. "Even better."

_Shit. Shameless flirting. Ok. Fuck. Wow. Fuck – what do I do…?_

Elsa bit back a swallow as her mind cycled through the countless scenarios that could potentially stem from her next move. Her stomach churned wildly and a searing blush began to creep along her usually-cool skin as the blonde desperately tried to shove off the ever-present tug at her heart caused by her increasingly frequent thoughts of a certain redhead.

_Come on, dumbass! SAY SOMETHING! Forget the fucking calculations! Forget the girl who won't ever actually love you back and just open your mouth and-_

"Aren't you, you know… _cold_…?"

_Are you fucking kidding me…? You're hopeless. Fucking hopeless._

If the girl was startled by the response, she didn't show it at all.

"Actually, I think it's kind of hot in here," she smirked, not missing a beat.

_Holy fucking hell. Ok, what just actually happened right now…? Whatever – just say something. Speak. Go. Talk. Bark._

"Have, um, have we met before…?" Elsa asked quietly, her ears starting to glow crimson.

_Good puppy. Come on. You can do this._

"Not _really_," the girl shrugged before extending her hand. "I'm Hannah, by the way – Leah's sister."

_Oh. Wow… that… that actually explains a lot._

"Really? Like what?" the girl – Hannah – asked curiously, quirking an eyebrow as she took Elsa's somewhat outstretched hand in hers.

_Fuck. Fuck, shit, fuck. That was out loud, damn it._

"Oh, jus- um… you guys just look a lot alike," Elsa squeaked.

She immediately tried to pull away from the handshake, but Hannah gripped the blonde's hand tighter.

"That's funny because we're actually both adopted," the girl said – clearly a bit just to watch Elsa squirm as the brunette bit back an amused smile. "Different biological parents and everything."

_Nice going, dumbfuck._

"But we _do_ look pretty alike for not being blood," Hannah smiled reassuringly, finally releasing Elsa's hand – but not without ghosting her fingertips along the older girl's palm. "People say that to us all the time – you're definitely not the first."

_That was… kind…_

"Still… sorry," Elsa mumbled awkwardly, pulling her hand back close to her body.

"Don't be," Hannah shrugged. She gave Elsa a blatant once-over, hazel eyes settling on Elsa's navy blue hoodie. "You're a hockey fan, huh?"

"H-Huh…?" Elsa blinked, mouth going dry. "Oh – oh, um, yeah. I'm friends with the guys on the team."

"_Just_ friends," Hannah smirked, "_right_?"

Elsa's cheeks flushed redder than PSP in a basic solution.

_Whoamygod. How is this even happening right now…?_

"I-I… um…" she gulped, nodding dumbly. "Y-Yeah… just… just friends."

"Mmm," Hannah hummed. "_Good_. Can't let the guys steal all the hot girls."

_She… she thinks I'm… _hot_…? …Wait. No. This can't be real. This is some kind of trick, isn't it? You're getting fucking Punk'd or something. Everyone here thinks you're a freak, you gullible dumbfuck. No one would ever believe you're anything more than that. Not even Ann-_

"You're really forward, you know that?" Elsa said lowly, desperately trying to silence her own train of thought.

"I know what I want," the brunette said calmly.

Elsa snorted mirthlessly. The feet of her chair scraped loudly against the linoleum as she stood, now several inches taller than the girl.

"You're, _what_, a freshman?" she said icily. "What do _you_ know about what you _actually_ want? And what makes you think I'd even care?"

Roughly tearing open her messenger bag, Elsa started to shove the stack of quiz papers inside without giving Hannah so much as a glance. Until she felt a warm hand on the bare skin of her forearm.

"I know I want to be with someone who isn't some bullshit, fake asshole like just about every kid at this entire university. And I think you _care_ because you're not one of them. You're _different_."

_Admittedly unexpected response. Maybe she's not… no. _No_. Stop. Just leave. Now._

Elsa hesitated, but only for a moment. As soon as the papers were in the bag and her Moleskine was grasped tightly in her hand, she ducked her head and slung it onto her back, the strap settling in the valley of her breasts.

"I'm late for… something…" Elsa mumbled halfheartedly as she turned to walk away.

"I'm trying to ask you out, ok…?"

_No fucking shit, Sherlock._

A weary sigh escaped Elsa's lips at the girl's words. The blonde stopped, hanging her head for a moment before turning around.

"Ok, look – I'm usually pretty damn clueless when it comes to social-nicety bullshit, but I'm not _that_ dumb," she breathed.

"I wasn't insinuating that you were," Hannah said softly. "I'm just trying to say that I… I… you know… l-like you…" The girl swallowed thickly and bit her lip. "Look, I know I'm really terrible at this, and that we've never actually met or anything, and that I probably look like an idiot because I just made a complete fool of myself, but I was just trying to be, I don't know, confident or whatever, and I-"

"H-Hockey…" Elsa blurted out.

_WHAT?! No! Shut up! Stop! She's probably still trying to fuck with you!_

"Huh…?" Hannah blinked.

"D-Do you like, um, do you like hockey…?" Elsa clarified shakily.

_What are you doing?! What about ANNA?! You know her – the gorgeous redhead who for some fucked up reason actually seems to like being your friend. Wait – fuck! No! Geez! Stop being such a perv! Anna is your _student_. She's __**maybe**__ a _friend_, but that's __**all**__ she's ever gonna be. This is at least a shot at **something**._

"O-Oh," Hannah squeaked, shrugging. "I've never…"

"There's a game… this Friday," Elsa said hurriedly. "We… we could go – you know, probably more as, like, _**friends **_or something. But, if-if you want to go-"

"I'd love that," Hannah beamed.

"Oh," Elsa blinked. "Oh, ok. Great. Ok… um…" she dropped her Moleskine onto the desk and unclipped the pencil from the cover as she turned to a free page. "I-If you want to write down your number or, you know, whatever…"

Hannah grinned at the older girl and shyly took the pencil from her hand.

"You take your Chemistry notes in a Moleskine?" the brunette asked lightheartedly as she jotted down her number. "Isn't that a little sacrilegious? There's probably some coffee-shop type artsy chick somewhere having a coronary."

All Elsa could do was laugh.

_Oh, you're in trouble now._

* * *

**Thursday, 3:00 PM **

_God, she's probably an _amazing _kisser. I mean, all that dark, mysterious angsty stuff has to have some sort of outlet, right? She's totally one of those people who's, like, super anti-touchy-feely around everyone except for her girlfriend. I can so see that happening. She's probably a giant cuddle-monster, now that I think about it. Mmmh… I wonder what one of her hugs would be like? Probably better than anyone else's, honestly. She's one of those people who'd wrap you in her arms and never let go – someone who wouldn't ever leave you if you needed her. It's kind of heartbreaking, though, because she seems kind of… _broken_. Like there's this beautiful, deep soul behind some giant wall of ice or something. I wonder who did that to her. Actually, no. It's probably a good idea if I never figure that out. I'd punch the living shit out of them. _Repeatedly_. Elsa's too good a person to be broken. Or maybe that's _why_ she's that way? The best people are always the ones who get hurt the most. I think it's because they're always the first ones to help and the last ones to leave. They stay by the people they love no matter what – even if it hurts. I know she's one of those people. One of those beautiful-_

"_**Anna**_?!"

"Huh…?" Anna blinked, warm bursts of electricity making every nerve in her body tingle when she looked up into Elsa's ice-blue eyes.

"That's, like, the fifth time you've totally zoned out on me," Elsa remarked worriedly. "Are you ok?"

"Oh," Anna nodded, ears burning. "Yeah – yeah, I'm fine. I'm really sorry."

"No – no," Elsa backtracked, her eyes widening. "I didn't… I mean, it's totally fine. I get it – Marketing projects are hideously boring." She shrugged. "I just want to make sure you're alright."

_Why is she so perfect? Ungh._

"Yeah, I'm totally good," Anna flashed her a soft smile. "I… I guess I just have a lot on my mind…"

_Yeah. A certain loveable, goofy blonde whose name will _not_ be mentioned._

"If you want to pick this up another-"

"NO!" Anna yelped.

Elsa recoiled ever so slightly, her eyes wide with shock.

_Nice going, genius. You freaked the hell out of her._

"I-I mean…" Anna swallowed thickly as she leaned back in her seat again. "We need to work on it, so…"

"Actually, it's still not due for-" Elsa hesitated, breathing quickening as she looked into Anna's teal eyes. "Um, yeah – you're… you're right. We should stay and work on it."

Tugging the corner of her bottom lip into her mouth, Elsa turned back to the papers on the table and shuffled them around somewhat needlessly.

_Well that was… interesting. It kind of seems like she actually _wants_ to stay. Wow. Ok. So – _go on_, then! Say something!_

"You're gonna be at the hockey game tomorrow night, right?" Anna squeaked.

_Oh, hell. We _**have**_ to work on your tact._

"Yeah, totally," Elsa nodded. A wide grin spread cross her face and her eyes shone with a passion and joy Anna had never seen before. "I have to support my boys. They're basically my brothers, and it's one of their biggest games of the year. The Devils are our biggest rivals."

"Oh, wow," Anna blinked. "Where are they from?"

"Southern Isles U," the blonde said bitterly. "It's like difference between Monsters U and Fear Tech. They think they're _the_ shit, but they're actually _just_ _shit_."

Anna's heart swelled as she quirked an eyebrow at the girl across the table from her.

"You're a Disney movie fan?" she asked softly.

"I…" Elsa swallowed, ears reddening. "I, um… y-yeah… big time…"

"Aww," Anna beamed, gently nudging the blonde's arm. "That's so adorable."

_FUCK. You shouldn't have said that! You. Should __**not**__. Have said that._

Elsa's ears twitched, her eyes snapping up to Anna's for only a moment before she quickly turned back to her Moleskine. Nearly every visible inch of her usually-milky skin was flushed a rosy pink.

"Uh… um…" Anna stammered, nearly choking on her own saliva as she opened and closed her mouth – trying and failing to form words. "Um, I-I-"

_Help._

"So, I was reading the book Shapiro recommended," Elsa cut in, her gaze intently trained on the blank notebook page before her as Anna breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "And, uh – it seems like a pretty solid place to pick up our research. I mean, it talks about some pretty controversial stuff about internet marketing. Kind of creepy when you think about it, really – the level of integration some people want it to have in your life. Like all this stuff with Instagram and Facebook, or even Vine. It's guerilla marketing at it's fines-"

"Hey, guys."

_…Uh-oh._

Anna's head snapped up in time for teal eyes to meet hazel.

"Han- um… _Hannah_," Anna swallowed thickly. "Hey. How… how are you?"

"Awesome, actually," Hannah smirked. "Just aced my Chem II midterm." She glanced over at the blonde, whose body was completely rigid as she toyed with her pencil. "Hey, Elsa."

_Wait, what?_

"H-Hi, Hannah," Elsa squeaked, giving the girl a small smile.

_Excuse me…?_

"You two know each other?" Anna asked tightly.

_Because the last time we talked about Elsa by _name_ all you could say was that you felt sorry for me being stuck with the Chem Department's resident "Ice Queen."_

"Oh, just from around," Hannah shrugged nonchalantly. "Small department. Not a lot of people are insane enough to be Chem majors."

Elsa nodded a bit, chuckling anxiously.

"Yeah," she swallowed thickly. "We're kind of weird, I guess."

"But we're weird together," Hannah grinned. She cast a sideways glance at Elsa, whose ears started to glow crimson. "Anyway," she shrugged, starting off. "I have to run to Calc. I'll see you guys later!"

Tense silence fell between the girls as the brunette sauntered away. Elsa awkwardly swept her hair out of her eyes as a cool breeze floated over the Anthropology patio, still refusing to meet the younger girl's gaze.

"Well, it's nice that you're all friends over in the Chem Department," Anna said pointedly.

"Huh?" Elsa squeaked. "Oh – oh, yeah." She finally pried her eyes from her notebook to look up at Anna. "You, um… you know Hannah?"

"Yeah, we're actually roo-"

"Wait! _Shit_! She was going to her next… what time is it?!" Elsa exclaimed, eyes flying open as she looked down at her watch. "Fuck – Anna, I'm so sorry. I completely forgot – I have a TA meeting like _now_."

"Oh, yeah – don't worry about it," Anna shrugged, flashing Elsa the best smile she could muster.

The redhead swallowed thickly, her heart sinking as she watched Elsa hurriedly stuff all of her papers and books into her bag. She couldn't help but feel as if things were going to change between them – and not in the way Anna had been wishfully thinking of over the past few months. A surge of something altogether foreign rushed through her veins. It lapped like blue flames at her insides and pulsed through her bloodstream until it reached her heart, heavy and cold as ice.

"Are you guys _together_?" Anna asked suddenly, her voice strong and clear.

_Fuck impropriety._

Elsa froze, unbuckled straps of her messenger bag still in her hands as she turned to face Anna. The redhead was resolute, locking her gaze with Elsa's in an almost unnerving manner.

"No," Elsa breathed hoarsely. "No – we're just friends."

* * *

**AN: Aww – you guys didn't **_**really**_** think I'd forget Hans, did you?**

So, to answer your question from ages ago, ElsaStoleMyPen, I had to name her _HAN_nah for that reason! Though I totally agree Rapunzel would have made a much better roommate, but I couldn't tell you that way back in Chapter 2! Would've ruined it for ya! =D

**Oh, and now might also be a good time to remind you all that, you know, this story… well… at some point it'll be rated "M" for reasons **_**other**_** than just language. **(cue impish Elsa smirk)

_**WHAT? Didn't anyone tell you that chemists do it periodically on the table?**_

Ahhhhh – didn't see that one comin' did ya? Did ya?!

**Ok, but real talk time: thank you for every single review/follow/favorite. You guys are seriously incredible. I'm just going to try to reply to all of your reviews from here on in, because, as much as I think I'm probably bothering the shit out of you by PMing you back, I feel compelled to do so. You guys mean a ton to me, and I really appreciate that you take the time to even read this – let alone follow it.**

Also, infinite thanks to _**r9khaileyissuffering**_ for the brilliant art that I've commandeered for the story's avatar. TA!Elsa now has a face, which she's ecstatic about. (But probably not as much as Anna, who now can't pay attention in Chem lab to save her life.) [And for putting up with my whiney writer bullshit.]

Wow... I really have to stop pulling all-nighters to write these on school nights. Yikes! Night, awesome nerds! Morning...? Fuck. Whatever.


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